American architecture, art, theatre, film and music

Architecture

Colonial architecture

When the Europeans settled in North America, they brought their architectural traditions and construction techniques for building. Construction was dependent upon the available resources: wood and brick are the common elements of English buildings in New England. Excavations at the first permanent English speaking settlement Jamestown in Virginia have unearthed part of the James Fort. These settlers often came to the New World for economic purposes, therefore revealing why most early homes reflect the influences of modest village homes and small farms. The appearance of structures was very plain and made with little imported material. Windows, for example, were extremely small.  The glass that was used was imported from England and was incredibly expensive.

American mass media

The mass media are all those media technologies that are intended to reach a large audience by mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise television, film and radio. Print media use a physical object as a means of sending their information, such as newspaper, magazines, newsletters, books, leaflets and pamphlets. Internet media is able to achieve mass media status in its own right, due to the many mass media services it provides, such as email, websites, blogging and television.

Postwar America

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America at war in the 20th century

WWI

The incident meant little to most Americans, but it would have great consequences for them as for much of the world. On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was shot and killed by a young Serbian nationalist at Sarajevo in the Austrian province of Bosnia. WWI was a result of leaders' aggression towards other countries which was supported by the rising nationalism and imperialism. Soon two camps emerged: Central powers with Germany and Austria-Hungary x Allies with Great Britain, Russia and France. Early they got engaged in an armed conflict that would soon engulf the rest of the Europe.

America at the beginning of the 20th century and economy

Progressivism

Progressive Era dates from 1890s to 1920s and the USA entered the new century as the world’s richest and most productive economic power. Within two decades, progressivism had touched nearly every aspect of American life: cities, corporations and trade unions, the education of children and the interpretation of laws, the conservation of natural resources and the socialization of immigrants, the status of women and the labour of children, the quality of food and the content of magazines.

Reconstruction, Gilded Age and education

Reconstruction Era

Since the Civil War was fought mainly in the south, South states were devastated and had no infrastructure, institutions collapsed and people were jobless. In addition, there was a problem what to do with freed slaves and farmers could not managed huge plantations without them. The Reconstruction Era 1865–1877 focuses on reconstruction of devastated South. It started even before the end of war with Abraham Lincoln’s Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction in 1863 but had condition of acceptance – he wanted to get rid of individual officers who lead rebellion and conditions.

Civil War and abolitionism of slavery

Antebellum era

As Antebellum era 1781-1860 is considered the period between the American Revolution and the Civil War. After American Revolution, almost whole country was rural, most people lived on farms, plantations or in small villages. There were just 5 important cities: Philadelphia (42 000), New York (33 000), Boston (18 000), Charleston (16 000) and Baltimore (13 000). However, cities started to rapidly grow with massive immigration caused by a wave of economic distress, political repression and religious prosecution in 1840s Europe. A big improvement were railroads that ran thought rich territories.